BRASILIA, Brazil — There was heartbreak for Canada at the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Tuesday, losing 2-1 to Angola on a 94th-minute goal by David.
Host Brazil defeated the Canadians 4-1 in the tournament's opening match Saturday. Angola, making its competition debut, downed New Zealand 2-1 in its first outing.
The Canadians face New Zealand on Friday.
Zini opened the scoring for Angola in the 31st minute before Jacen Russell-Rowe, a 17-year-old forward with the Toronto FC academy, tied it up in the 49th.
"We came here to progress in the tournament, and we are still looking for our first win ever at this level. That first win has to come against New Zealand," said Canada coach Andrew Olivieri. "That could be enough to get us through, if we can get that win and close the goal difference, we may see ourselves achieve our objective."
Canada dodged several bullets in the match at Estadio Bezerrao where the announced attendance was 1,232.
A 22nd-minute penalty awarded to Angola for handball was cancelled after video review determined the play was offside. And an Angola goal was waved off for offside after another video review in the 91st minute.
Angola outshot Canada 15-12 but the Canadians had a 7-3 edge in shots on target. Canada had 55 per cent of the possession.
Canada, playing in its seventh U-17 World Cup, is still looking for its first win with 16 losses and four draws. Angola is already 2-0-0.
Canada, which failed to qualify for the 2015 and 2017 editions of the tournament, has never advanced out of group play.
Canada hosted the tournament in 1987. It also took part in 1989, 1993 and 1995.
The Canadians qualified for Brazil by beating Costa Rica 4-3 on penalty kicks after their quarter-final ended in a 1-1 tie after regulation time at the CONCACAF U17 Championship in Bradenton, Fla., in May. Canada then lost 4-0 to the U.S. in the semifinals.
Twenty of the 21 Canada players in Brazil are with Canadian MLS club academies: eight from Toronto and six each from Montreal and Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2019.
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The Canadian Press
